Mother Teresa and the Bodhisattva Ideal: a Buddhist View

context of these requisites calls into question the legitimacy of attempt- ing to blithely translate ideas and principles from one worldview to another. Ultimately, the contrivance may work, trumped by the at- tainments of the archetypal bodhisattva. With figures like Mother Te- resa, who are regarded as moral exemplars not only within their own Mother Teresa and the traditions but in other traditions and beyond religion as well, perhaps we can expand our understandings of compassion and of the cultural Bodhisattva Ideal and religious categories that delineate religious ideals. A Buddhist View henever I teach about the selfless ideal of the bodhisat- Karma Lekshe Tsomo tva in classes on Buddhism, students inevitably ask: University of San Diego “Is it possible that Mother Teresa was a bodhisattva?” TheW question prompted me to reflect on the Buddhist notion of the bodhisattva, the qualities associated with this ideal and whether The notion of the bodhisattva, the selfless individual who is dedi- or not someone outside the Buddhist tradition could potentially cated to alleviating the sufferings of others, is traditionally articulated fulfill the criteria traditionally required to become one. My inten- within a Mahāyāna Buddhist framework. The question posed here is tion was not to artificially equate Catholic and Buddhist religious whether and to what extent this religious ideal can be conceived of, or ideals, but to place the highly developed expressions of religious instantiated by, individuals whose religiosity is framed by a different life held by these traditions side by side and explore where the cat- set of beliefs and values, taking the Roman Catholic Sister of Charity, egories cross over and where they do not. For example, if renuncia- Mother Teresa, as an example. The broader question of commensurabil- tion were used as a primary criterion, how might the analysis help ity arises when the criteria for qualifying as a bodhisattva, set within highlight different aspects of this religious ideal as conceptualized a specifically Mahāyāna context, are superimposed upon a figure who and embodied in the Catholic and Buddhist traditions? is solidly grounded within another religious tradition. At first glance, The life of the well-known Roman Catholic Sister of Charity, the requisite virtues of the bodhisattva—renunciation, compassion Mother Teresa, has been an inspiration and model for millions and wisdom—seem to intersect aptly with the life and teachings of the of women and men from a wide range of religious backgrounds “saint of Calcutta.” In the details, however, the Buddhist philosophical around the world. Her charity work among the poor is heralded as a classic example of love, expressing the highest ideals of Catholic Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture, Vol. 1, No. 1 (March 2012) social teachings. While she used Christian language and grounded 96–105 © 2012 her work solidly within her own faith tradition, Mother Teresa’s CLARITAS | Journal of Dialogue & Culture | Vol. 1, No.1 (March 2012) 96 life of selfless devotion to the poor epitomized compassionate ser- of Yugoslavian priests working in Bengal, she left home and trav- vice to humanity in a way that reached beyond the confines of re- eled to Zagreb and then to Dublin where she joined the well- ligious categories. Given the fact that she was awarded the Nobel known missionary order, the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto. Soon Peace Prize in 1979, beatified in 2003, and widely mythologized, it there after, in 1928, she traveled to India where she completed two is somewhat surprising to find that her life and her charitable work years of novitiate training in Darjeeling before receiving her first have received little scholarly attention to date. vows. She then taught history and geography and later became the In this essay, I offer a Buddhist analysis of the life and social headmistress at St. Mary’s High School, a prestigious girls’ school work of this remarkable woman. The central focus of the essay is a run by the Loreto Sisters in Kolkata. In 1937, she took her final comparative analysis of the principles that guide the bodhisattva, vows and the name Teresa. In 1946, she received a calling from the eminently selfless individual in the Buddhist tradition, and the God that directed her to serve the poor.1 Christian principles that guided Mother Teresa’s selfless service. In 1950, Teresa received approval from the Diocese of Cal- First, I introduce the life and teachings of the “saint of Calcutta cutta and Pope Pius XII to establish an order of nuns, called the [Kolkata].” Second, I describe the bodhisattva ideal and explain the “Missionaries of Charity,” with the express purpose of serving the prerequisites for entering the bodhisattva path. Third, using these unfortunate while living among them: “Our particular mission is criteria as starting points, I assess Mother Teresa’s aspirations and to labor at the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the achievements in relation to the aspirations and achievements of poor.”2 She began her charitable work immediately and, two years the bodhisattva. In this cross-cultural comparison, I investigate later, opened a home for the dying destitute in an empty pilgrims’ the fundamental values and human qualities that emerge in the rest house at Kalighat, a popular Hindu pilgrimage site. For the narrative of Mother Teresa from a Buddhist perspective. A sub- next 45 years, eventually joined by 4,000 dedicated nuns who fol- text of the essay is the question of commensurability, the extent to lowed her example and 10,000 lay volunteers who assisted, she which similar concepts in dissimilar contexts can legitimately be faithfully tended the sick, downtrodden, and abandoned. Despite compared, and the question of whether such an exploration yields contracting tuberculosis, she continued to give succor to lepers and new insights, either theoretically or practically, into either religious AIDS patients until her death in 1997 at the age of 87, maintain- tradition. ing a lifestyle akin to that of the impoverished she served, while regarding them as “the Lord himself.” To Save and Sanctify the Poorest of the Poor Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhui in 1910 to a 1. Kathryn Spink, Mother Teresa: A Complete Authorized Biography (San Francisco: prosperous Albanian Catholic family in Skopje, now Macedonia. HarperSanFrancisco, 1997), pp. 3–22. 2. From the Constitution of the Missionaries of Charity written by Mother Teresa. As a child, she was very religious and conscientious in caring for See Edward Le Joly, S. J., Mother Teresa of Calcutta: A Biography (San Francisco: Harper the poor in her environs. At the age of 18, inspired by the letters & Row, 1985), p. 28. CLARITAS | Journal of Dialogue & Culture | Vol. 1, No.1 (March 2012) 97 Despite her widely acclaimed mission of peace and charity, Despite the long “dark night of the soul” she silently experienced, Mother Teresa received considerable criticism. While she was Mother Teresa continued to “see Jesus in the face of every beggar.”4 admired as an embodiment of Christian faith and goodness, an Her legacy of compassion for the poor continues in hundreds of “angel of mercy” and a “saint of the gutters” by many, her detrac- centers around the world through the efforts of several thousand tors denounced her as a fanatic and a fraud, and excoriated her for nuns and countless lay devotees. opposing divorce, contraception, and abortion amidst the miseries There is no question that Mother Teresa’s selfless devotion to of an overpopulated world. Eschewing all modern conveniences, the poorest of the poor inspired hope and charity among millions Mother Teresa lived a life of poverty for almost 50 years, yet has of people with an influence that extended far beyond the Cath- been faulted for not allowing her nuns to use fans, washing ma- olic community. The question that concerns us here, however, is chines, or elevators that would have lightened their work. Despite whether or not she can be called a bodhisattva, a supremely selfless these controversies, at the behest of Pope John Paul II, she was be- individual in the Buddhist sense of the word. To answer this ques- atified in 2003 and declared “a blessed of the Catholic Church.” To tion, we need to be clear about the qualities of the bodhisattva and commemorate this penultimate step to sainthood, 150,000 people the criteria for becoming one. from around the world gathered in Rome to pay her tribute. Few doubt that Mother Teresa was a very special person and Entering the Bodhisattva Path many regard her as a saintly and uniquely selfless example of An abiding concern for the welfare of sentient beings (literally, Christian charity and piety. She received tribute worldwide for her beings who possess consciousness) is one of the salient features humanitarian contributions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace of the Buddha’s teachings as evident in even the earliest Buddhist Prize in 1971 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Her life of kind- texts. The Buddha declared his intention to work for the welfare ness and compassion among the abjectly poor in India set a new of all and exhorted others to do likewise. In the Majjhima Nikāya, model for what it means to be devoted to Jesus and become an a text found in the Pāli canon of the Theravāda tradition, we read: instrument of God’s love: Laying aside cudgel and sword, To me, Jesus is the Life I want to live, the Light I want to I live a life of innocence and mercy, reflect, the Way to the Father, the Love I want to express, Full of kindliness and compassion for everything that lives.5 the Joy I want to share, the Peace I want to sow around me.

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